Your portfolio should be a dedicated website (like GitHub Pages or a simple personal site) that acts as a digital showcase of your technical abilities and project experience.
1. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Recruiters don’t have time to wade through twenty mediocre projects. Focus your efforts on 3 to 5 truly impressive, well-documented projects that show a wide range of skills.
| Project Type | What it Demonstrates | Examples |
| Hardware Integration | Ability to work with sensors, actuators, wiring, and real-world constraints. | Building a custom PCB for a mobile robot, creating a PID controller for a motor. |
| Complex Software/Algorithms | Proficiency in high-level programming, math, and specific robotics concepts. | A SLAM implementation using LIDAR data, a path planning algorithm for a drone. |
| Open-Source Contribution | Collaboration, code review, familiarity with Git/GitHub, and industry standards. | Fixing a critical bug in the ROS 2 navigation stack, adding a feature to a major robotics library. |
2. Document Everything (The “Why” and the “How”)
This is the most crucial step. A portfolio project isn’t just a GitHub link. It’s a comprehensive story that answers:
- The Problem (The “Why”): What real-world challenge were you trying to solve? (e.g., “We needed an autonomous system to inspect agricultural fields.”)
- The Solution (The “What”): What did you build? (e.g., “A custom-built, four-wheeled mobile robot running ROS 2 and utilizing a camera for vision.”)
- The Technical Details (The “How”): Which tools, languages, and concepts did you use? Be specific! Mention Python, C++, ROS 2, Docker, Git, OpenCV, the specific sensors, etc.
- The Results (The “Proof”): What was the outcome? Did it work? Include performance metrics, graphs, or videos.
- The Lessons Learned (The “Growth”): What went wrong? What would you do differently? This shows self-awareness and a learning mindset.
3. Visuals are Non-Negotiable
Robotics is a visual field. You need to prove the robot moves and the code works.
- High-Quality Videos: Record a short, clear video (30-60 seconds) for every project showing it in action. Upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and embed it directly on your project page. A working demo is 10x better than a static image.
- Clear Images: Use clean photos of the physical hardware, diagrams of your system architecture, and screenshots of data output or simulation results (like Rviz).1
- Clean Code Presentation: Link directly to the GitHub repository, and ensure the README file is professional, organized, and follows the structure outlined in point #2.
4. Highlight the “Soft” Skills
A portfolio doesn’t just demonstrate technical mastery; it demonstrates professionalism.2
- Testing Proficiency: If you used unit tests or functional tests, mention it! This shows you build robust, reliable code.
- Documentation: Did you create API documentation? Did you use a project management tool? Detail your process.
- Collaboration: For group projects, clearly define your specific role and contributions. If you worked on an open-source repo, emphasize the experience of multi-cultural, distributed teamwork.
💡 Portfolio Best Practices at a Glance
|
Do This |
Avoid This |
| Embed a video of your project running. | Just linking to a GitHub repo with no context. |
| Use clear headings and bold important technologies (e.g., SLAM, Docker, C++). | Walls of text or overly complex technical jargon. |
| Explain the “why” behind your design choices. | Just describing “what” the robot does. |
| Mention tests, deployment methods (Docker), and Git flow. | Forgetting to mention the tools you used. |
| Have a separate, dedicated page for your Open-Source Contributions. | Mixing open-source work in with personal projects. |
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